Browsing by Author "Sheedy, K"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Cultural heritage project at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
    (Springer Nature, 2022-01-25) Salvemini, F; White, R; Levchenko, VA; Smith, AM; Pastuovic, Z; Stopic, A; Luzin, V; Tobin, MJ; Puskar, L; Howard, DL; Davis, J; Avdeev, M; Gatenby, S; Kim, MJ; Grazzi, F; Sheedy, K; Olsen, SR; Raymond, CA; Lord, C; Richards, C; Bevitt, JJ; Popelka-Filcoff, RS; Lenehan, CE; Ives, S; Dredge, P; Yip, A; Brookhouse, MT; Austin, AG
    The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) is the home of Australia’s most significant landmark and national infrastructure for research. ANSTO operates one of the world’s most modern nuclear research reactors, OPAL; a comprehensive suite of neutron beam instruments; the Australian Synchrotron; the Electron Microscope Facility; and the Center for Accelerator Science. Over the years, the suite of nuclear methods available across ANSTO’s campuses has been increasingly applied to study a wide range of heritage materials. Since 2015 the strategic research project on cultural heritage was initiated in order to promote access to ANSTO’s capabilities and expertise, unique in the region, by cultural institution and researchers. This chapter offers a compendium of ANSTO nuclear capabilities most frequently applied to cultural heritage research. A series of innovative, interdisciplinary, and multi-technique studies conducted in close collaboration with Australian museums, institutions, and universities is also showcased. It includes research on dating Aboriginal Australian rock art and fingerprinting the sources of ochre pigments; rediscovering the technological knowledge in the making of early coinage and ancient weapons; virtually unwrapping the content of votive mummies from ancient Egypt; and investigating and restoring the original layer of a painting that can be explored by the museum audience in a novel type of exhibition based on an immersive, interactive, and virtual environment. © 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
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    Investigating methods of minting ancient Greek silver plated copper coins: studies in neutron tomography, texture and phase analysis
    (Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE), 2020-05-11) Salvemini, F; Olsen, SR; Luzin, V; Sheedy, K
    Neutron tomographic, texture and phase analyses undetaken on the Neutron Beam Instruments Dingo, Kowari and Echidna have been employed to investigate plated silver coins minted in Athens and in the Greek colonies of Kroton and Metapontum (Southern Italy) during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The investigation aims to define the plating method by characterising the manufacturing conditions and morphological and structural features of the specimens. Thickness maps of the silver plating and porosity give an indication on the similarity of the production techniques. The texture analysis gives an indication on the mechanical processes and temperature under which these coins were struck. The status of these coins is uncertain: were they official issues by state-authorities during periods of silver shortages or the product of ancient or modern counterfeiters? © The authors.
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    A multi-technique investigation of the incuse coinage of Magna Graecia
    (Elsevier, 2018-08-01) Salvemini, F; Sheedy, K; Olsen, SR; Avdeev, M; Davis, J; Luzin, V
    This paper focuses on the application of different neutron techniques to characterize the manufacturing process of ‘incuse’ coins minted by Greek colonies in Southern Italy during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. In order to provide an insight into incuse coinage minting, numismatic and historical studies were combined with metallurgical research based on non-destructive neutron diffraction, neutron texture analysis and neutron tomography. The most significant scientific data collected during our campaign of investigation will be showcased. Crown Copyright © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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    Neutron diffraction texture analysis for numismatics
    (The Royal Numismatic Society, 2020) Luzin, V; Sheedy, K; Olsen, SR; Salvemini, F; Avdeev, M
    Neutron diffraction analysis has emerged as a powerful, non-invasive, non-destructive method in the field of numismatics. In this chapter we report on some preliminary results from the Incuse Coinage Project which explores methods employed by city-states in South Italy to produce a very distinctive regional form of silver currency, incuse coinage, during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. In order to understand what makes these minting procedures unique it is necessary to obtain data from incuse as well as non-incuse coinages, and we report on studies of twelve coins from mints in different cities and from different eras. Neutron texture and phase analyses can provide an insight into the processing of the metal during the production of coinage.
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    A neutron tomographic analysis of plated silver coins from ancient Greece official or illegal?
    (Materials Research Forum LLC, 2020-05-01) Olsen, SR; Silvemini, F; Luzin, V; Garbe, U; Avdeev, M; Davis, J; Sheedy, K
    This study focuses on a neutron tomographic analysis conducted on a set of plated silver coins minted in the city-state of Athens and in the Greek colonies of Kroton and Metapontum (South Italy or Magna Graecia) during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The investigation aims to define the plating method by characterising the morphological and structural features of the specimens, i.e. the volume fraction of metallic and non-metallic components, and thickness maps of the plating and porosity. The status of these coins is uncertain: were they official issues authorized by state-authorities during periods of trouble (and silver shortages in the public treasury) or the product of ancient or modern counterfeiters? © 2020 by the author(s). Creative Commons 3.0
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    Neutron tomographic analysis: Material characterization of silver and electrum coins from the 6th and 5th centuries BCE
    (Elsevier B.V., 2016-08-01) Salvemini, F; Olsen, SR; Luzin, V; Garbe, U; Davis, J; Knowles, T; Sheedy, K
    Neutron tomography was applied to study a set of Greek silver coins and a single Lydian electrum coin minted in the 6 and 5th centuries BCE. The investigation was conducted at the new neutron imaging station DINGO at ANSTO in order to demonstrate capabilities and to explore limits of this non-invasive method in characterizing numismatic materials. From the reconstructed volume of each sample, the morphology, porosity, inclusions, and presence of composite structures can be revealed and evaluated. This information can be used to elucidate ancient minting technology and to prove authenticity. Moreover, the state of conservation, corrosion processes and attempts to repair the coins can be determined. © 2016 Elsevier Inc.